Let It Be
by Anera527
Summary: Sequel to 'Everybody Wants To Rule the World'. There's a note in Beth Latimer's pocket. She doesn't know how it got there, she doesn't really know who it's from, but by opening it she begins a chain reaction that pulls her into the path of aliens and time travel, and into a situation that can only be solved successfully when the past is forgiven.
1. Chapter 1

_**Let It Be**_

 _Chapter 1_

The air itself was vibrating.

That in and of itself was startling enough, as the space this air occupied was in the middle of the detention center of Wessex's prison. What was even more so was the fact that no one- not the guards, nor even the inmates- even began to realize that something was happening. Constable Brian McBride was making his rounds down the corridors and paused where he stood when hearing a strange wheezing sound, unsure what could cause something like that. But just as he was preparing to walk around the corner of the hall he suddenly had the thought that it was more important to turn around and go back the way he came.

If Constable McBride had turned that corner he would have seen a large blue police box materialize out of nowhere, its wheezing and groaning signifying the arrival of one of the most unique people in the known universe. The police box had barely finished settling before the door was swung open and a grey-haired man with hawkish eyes and severe eyebrows peered around into view.

He smiled, looking almost terrifyingly devious. "Use the psychic paper," he scoffed. "Yeah, right." He looked around to make sure that he and his box were alone and then made his way out through the doorway.

"I don't know if this is a good idea, Doctor," a timid voice spoke from inside the box.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't," he replied bitingly, "because you never do, Nardole. How are you supposed to live if you don't take risks now and again?" He began walking onwards, not even bothering to look behind him. "Stay in the Tardis if you want. I'm going to meet this Joe Miller."

The chameleon circuit on the Tardis was working quite well, and the Doctor was unafraid of potential witnesses. The cameras overlooking the corridors and jail cells were being quietly overwritten with his sonic so that they wouldn't pick up his presence. He knew exactly where he needed to go. He heard a quiet huff from behind him and then Nardole's footsteps followed behind him, sounding distinctly irritated.

The cell he was looking for was on the far right corner of the building, its heavy metal door locked tight. Through the small glass window he spied a small, bald-headed man sitting on the bed staring at nothing, his trembling hands twined together as he leaned forward.

The sonic took care of the locks on the door; a quick deft twist of his fingers and the alarm announcing a breach of security was taken care of before it had the chance to signal anybody.

"Joe Miller?"

The man moved from the bed, his blue eyes widening with fear as he backed away. "Wha-? Who are you? What're you doing here?" His voice was rough with little use and it trembled just the smallest bit, but it was telling enough that the Doctor nearly scoffed.

"Come now, Mr. Miller, if I wanted you dead I certainly wouldn't need to break into this tiny little room to do it. So stand up straight." He moved into the room and swung the door shut behind him, knowing that Nardole would keep a look out.

"What do you want?"

There. At least the trembling to his tone was gone. The silly man was trying to sound intimidating, but the Doctor was not the least bit frightened. He stood tall and straight for a long moment, his hands clasped in front of him like a stern school professor- and then he moved forward in one fluid motion, knowing that it would unnerve his audience. "I want you," he said quietly, reasonably, "to plead guilty to killing Daniel Latimer."

Joe's mouth worked, what little color remaining in his skin draining away. "Why should I?" he finally managed to demand.

The Doctor was still advancing; he smiled in response but it was not a nice one. "Because tomorrow morning there is going to be a plea hearing," he responded all the while with that quiet reasonable tone, "and there will be a family sitting there who needs to hear it in order to find some sort of closure."

Joe was backing away from him steadily, almost working himself into a corner in his desire to escape the Doctor's reach. "They don't have sufficient proof that I did it," he protested. "They never did. They never would've solved the case if I hadn't handed the phone in!"

The Doctor highly doubted that. He had seen enough of Alec's memories when he'd been in the latter's mind that he knew that Alec had been close to cracking the case wide open on his own. The only reason why he hadn't gone and arrested Joe Miller on the spot when he received confirmation for his suspicions was because he hadn't wanted Ellie there when he did it.

He didn't bother trying to explain that to this man, though- he had no wish to implicate either Alec or Ellie in this visit just in case it didn't sufficiently frighten him. "Just because you think there isn't evidence doesn't make your actions untrue. Danny will still be dead. His parents are still without their child. And it was your hands that murdered him. And you want to know something, Mr. Miller?" Joe had gone as far as he could; the Doctor leaned in very close, close enough he could see the way the human's pupils dilated in fear. His voice was a harsh whisper as he continued, allowing the barest hint of the Oncoming Storm to show through. "If there's one thing I hate it's murderers."

"I didn't mean to!" the pathetic man squeaked, looking desperate and frightened. "I only wanted him to love me! He would've gone to Mark and Beth, he would've painted the wrong picture about us. I didn't want to kill him!"

God, how had Ellie managed to stay with this man for so long? But of course he was a very fine actor; Joe Miller would have found it easy to play the dutiful loving husband to a tee in order to keep her by his side. The Doctor knew a master manipulator when he saw one- he stared at one in the mirror every morning, after all. But when faced with the absolute bare bald-faced truth, humans had the rather annoying- but sometimes helpful- habit of crumbling beneath the weight of stripped away lies.

"But you did. And now you're too much of a coward to take responsibility."

"They'll kill me in jail. You don't understand-"

The Doctor laughed, low and biting. Joe flinched away. "Don't I?" He straightened up again, looking down at the man quivering in the corner. "I think it's better to be kind, Mr. Miller. In this universe there isn't enough of that. But in this case I don't think I'd have it in me to be kind. If you think that a prison cell here would be bad, just imagine what could happen if you plead not guilty tomorrow. And I will come back, and I'll make sure you pay for that response for the rest of eternity. Which, as just a point of interest, I can do."

His voice hadn't changed in either pitch or tone until those last three words, which were accompanied by a genial smile. It made him the perfect image of danger; this was the sight that made Daleks pause and so long ago sent a shiver down the Family of Blood's spines.

Joe looked like he was going to keel over realizing that what he had just heard was not an idle threat; whatever else, the Doctor thought, most humans had a tenacious streak of self-preservation.

"So the question you have to ask yourself, Mr. Miller," he continued after a long moment, "is whether you find the idea of prison better, or if you want me to come back to visit you." He straightened up and turned back to the door.

"Did Ellie send you to try and bully me into confessing?"

There it was, the stubbornness. The child within Joe Miller was bellowing the unfairness of his situation and automatically lashing out and blaming the closest people to him. The Doctor nearly laughed at the idea; of course it wasn't Ellie. It wasn't even Alec who had encouraged him.

"I have no idea of who you're talking about, Mr. Miller. I need no one to tell me what to do anyway- there is no higher authority than me. Good day to you. Do let me know how the trial goes tomorrow."

Nardole was waiting impatiently by the door, looking worried. "I don't like this, sir," he said. "How do you know that this man is going to plead guilty at the trial, even with your threats?"

"Make a threat dour enough and anyone will believe it, Nardole. Or haven't you figured that out yet?"

~/~/~/~/~

Joe Miller pleaded guilty.

Sitting in the gallery with every muscle tense where she sat, Beth Latimer let out the breath held in her lungs in one large sigh of relief. She could feel Mark's fingers digging painfully into her own but that was okay because she felt like she was suddenly untethered and floating free and only his contact kept her grounded. The courtroom, seeming so small just moments ago now appeared to her like the entire world.

Her little boy finally had some sort of justice. It would never be enough for her but just hearing him admit to his actions allowed her to breathe a little easier.

She followed Mark out of the room, her fingers still entwined with his, allowing him to lead her onwards. Abruptly Beth was feeling lost- she had been wanting her son's killer to be sentenced, and he was.

So what was she going to do now?

her worries were interrupted when a man, walking along hurriedly, accidentally ran into Beth, knocking her arm and her stomach. Trying to steady herself before she fell over she grabbed onto Mark's arm and dimly heard her husband's call.

"Hey, watch it there, mate!"

But the man had gone, disappearing into the crowd surrounding them. Beth hadn't even truly seen him, catching a glimpse of dark clothes and grey hair, but she was sure that he was probably a right bastard with the way he hadn't even turned around to see if he had hurt anyone.

Mark was shaking his head. "Can't believe people these days," he was saying irritably, scowling. His hands were soft and gentle against her skin, one bracing her back as they continued on their way. His blue eyes were scanning her worriedly. Being nearly nine months pregnant, Beth didn't need any unfortunate accidents, but she merely shook her head.

"We're fine, Mark. Stop worryin'."

"He didn't even seem to notice you were there!" Their daughter Chloe was not as easy to persuade that everything was all right, her dimunitve stature seeming to grow several inches in her indignation. Beth knew that it was their worry for her and the baby that were making both of them to react this way but she found it bothersome.

"Let's not think about that man, alright?" she told both of them, climbing into the passenger seat of their car. "Today we're supposed to be thinkin' about Danny. Whoever he was, he wasn't important."

And she would have believed herself if only she hadn't realized that there was something in her pocket that hadn't been there before. She had to wait until they were back home in Broadchurch before she could manage to slip it out into view. Setting her purse on the kitchen countertop, hearing Chloe and Mark discuss what they could do for lunch to celebrate, she held up what appeared to be a note folded neatly in quarters. As she unfolded it uncertainly, her stomach suddenly flipping anxiously, movement from outside of the window caused her to look up.

The tall, thin figure walking across the field was one she recognized very well; during the investigation into Danny's murder DI Hardy had been a regular visitor to her household, letting them know of updates and anything that could have changed in the case. He had been he who had informed them of Danny's death, and it had been he who had told them weeks later who it was who had been responsible for it.

She hadn't seen him more than a few times since the close of the case, and even then it had always been in the last few months now spying him walking across the grassy field to Ellie Miller's house.

Beth hadn't seen reason to speak to or contact Ellie since Joe was arrested; the betrayal of her closest friend's husband was still too raw to process, and she still didn't understand how Ellie hadn't seen any sign of what was happening between Joe and Danny. It made her more than angry enough to ignore the pain in Ellie's eyes and instead focus on the blame.

What she didn't quite understand was the DI's relationship with Ellie was. She remembered her old friend complaining sometimes about how much of an arse Hardy was, how difficult it was to even hear a morning greeting from him on a good day, and God help you if you met him on a bad one. But watching him now Beth wondered.

The two detectives had disappeared for almost a week awhile back. It had been the talk of the town when it initially happened. First Steve Connelly's body was found, then an American man had been seen running around during the investigation. The docks down by the shore had been partially destroyed and then both Hardy and Ellie had disappeared.

Rumors had begun by the second day. The police had tried to cover up their absences by saying they had left for an out-of-town request for new eyes on a case, but the townspeople had been more than ready to come up with their own explanations. Some said that they had been killed by whoever it was by who had also murdered Connelly; still others stated it had to be because they had left town to continue a mad affair that had started all the way back to Danny's case.

Whatever it was, a week had gone by and then suddenly they were seen walking down the main road of Broadchurch together. The American man, dressed in a World War II coat, had bade them goodbye and kissed Ellie on the cheek as a farewell and then he'd gone just as quickly as he'd shown up.

That was when things had started to change. That was when Beth had occasionally seen the DI making his way to Ellie's house, and sometimes his visits ranged from a few minutes to a few hours. But he always headed back out again by the field, and his walk was quicker and livelier for every visit it seemed.

She leaned more towards the affair idea herself. Maybe not during Danny's case, unless Ellie really was that good of an actress, but Beth couldn't imagine what else it could possibly be.

The paper in her hands crinkled as she finished opening it, still watching as Hardy disappeared around the corner of the Millers' fence. As Mark passed by the doorway, having decided he was going to grill some steaks and hot dogs, she looked down at the note and froze. The writing was unfamiliar, bold and to the point, and written there were merely five words and a phone number:

 _Call me. I'm the Doctor._


	2. Chapter 2

_Two Years Later_

~/~/~/~/~

 _Tiptoe through the garden, by the garden of the willow tree..._

"Bloody hell, Miller." Disgruntled and still half-asleep Alec raised his head from the pillow and glared at the source of the noise. The small radio that served as Ellie's alarm clock in the mornings was too far away to be able to turn off without leaving the bed, and he didn't want to risk throwing something at it and accidentally breaking something else.

 _And if I kiss you in the garden, in the moonlight, will you pardon me?_

Sighing, knowing that the morning was well and truly beginning, he dragged himself out from underneath the coverlet and stood.

 _And tiptoe through the tulips with m-_

Tiny Tim's unique timbre still seemed to echo in Alec's ears even after he turned off the radio off- and then unplugged it for good measure. Slipping a shirt on he made his way down the stairs and padded quietly into the kitchen.

Ellie smiled at him from where she was pouring a cup of tea by the sink. "Morning!" she chirped, very much wide awake and cheerful.

He accepted the cuppa when she handed it over and kissed her on the cheek. "I'm going to throw that radio into the time vortex," he warned her, and her smile only widened.

"I'm glad you liked it so much," she retorted, setting the kettle down on the stove. She was already dressed and ready to leave for work but she sat beside him at the table for the few more minutes she had. "Where are you going to be today? Gonna stop by the station later?"

He shook his head. He remembered that the Doctor had always liked his tea sweet (very sweet) but he himself drank it like Donna did, without anything in it besides a spoonful of sugar. "I'll be in the shed," he said simply, knowing she knew what he meant.

"Morning, Tom," Ellie said, her attention turning to her eldest son. His hair was a mess and he still looked mostly asleep, but he grinned at her greeting and managed to return a greeting.

"Morning, Mum. Alec."

It had been the most difficult thing initially when they first came back from their days with the Doctor, explaining it to Tom. He was twelve and both of the detectives knew he was old enough to understand how to keep a secret, but it taken them several months to figure out a way to explain to him what had happened. But they couldn't explain away the way things had changed between them, or the way Ellie seemed to view the world differently, or that the both of them occasionally had to leave for trips to Torchwood. So Ellie had solved their problem by quite simply sitting him down in the living room and explaining everything.

"Aliens exist, and you met one of them?" was his first question, which took her aback.

"Several, actually," she responded without thinking.

"And the DI? He's half alien?"

Dear God, what had she let herself into? Again Ellie had to stop herself from delving into the terrifyingly complex physicality that was Alec's history. It seemed so strange when Tom said it aloud. "Yes. I'm sorry, sweetheart, I shouldn't have told you that, if it scares you-"

"Why would it scare me? I think it's cool."

And abruptly she wanted to laugh. Only children. It had been Tom's curiosity for time travel and the aliens that his mother had described to him that initially made him willing to put up with Alec's frequent visits; but soon Ellie came across the two of them having steady conversations and discussing what latest theories there were on time travel and how likely it was that quantum physics actually worked. The information that Alec retained from the Doctor was astounding, and Ellie could never quite believe how much he actually seemed to recall.

Fred was another matter. They were all very careful to keep all of it secret from the boy until he grew old enough to understand the importance of not telling strangers about it all. Ellie would tell him someday but it would be a long way off before she did.

But for now they were all comfortable in their respective dynamics, and Ellie could breathe a little easier knowing that her eldest and Alec had grown closer throughout the last two years.

She finished her tea and stood. "I've got to get going, I'll be late otherwise." She hurried to put the cup in the sink and kissed Alec goodbye, ruffled Tom's hair as he came back from the bathroom, and then the door closed behind her. Grinning slightly to himself Alec watched the boy sit down at the table with a bowl and a box of cereal. There had been a time even three years ago that he had hated the idea of anything domestic, courtesy of the Doctor in his head, but this small family was winning him over.

It was close to five hours later that he heard his phone ringing. Seeing the number he stood and answered it. "What?"

"Now, is that any way to greet a friend?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "What's wrong, Jack?"

He heard Jack Harkness's sigh over the phone. "Rift activity is up again. Gwen's picking up readings of something moving in the underground sewers. Buildings are starting to show damage. We need to get out there and see what it is. You busy?"

"You know, you should start paying me for all these trips to Cardiff."

"Please," Jack scoffed. "It'll take you two seconds to get here. And you don't even need money for a car, so don't try to pull that one on me."

"Ellie's still at work. Let me go and rescue her from the humans and we'll be over."

He heard Jack's snort of amusement. "You're human too, you know," he reminded him.

"We'll see you later."

~/~/~/~/~

Beth left for her run of the day. It was her ritual, the thing that kept her life steady and familiar, and of course it helped that it kept her in shape. The sound of the sea crashing along the coast was her constant companion as her shoes dug into the dirt and grass as she headed for the top of the cliffs, feeling the need for more of a workout. Chloe was back at the house watching over Lizzie while Mark was at work, but Beth knew her daughter could handle watching over her younger sister. It would be Lizzie's second birthday before long, and they needed to discuss plans for a party.

Her thoughts were on auto-pilot, as were her legs, so she wasn't aware of how far she was going before she paused. When she finally did pause for a breather she realized that she was on the far side of the cliffs already, far from the town. Up near Briar Cliff.

She felt a shudder down her spine at the realization. She never traveled up that way anymore, hating to be reminded overtly of what had happened there three years ago, but today she fought with herself. The small building in which her Danny had died was in view, innocent and plain amongst the tall waving grass, and she hated it.

She approached it cautiously and saw when she was close enough that it hadn't been visited in a very long time. Dust sat in the windowsills and the panel siding was faded and in need of another coat of paint. Briefly she wondered how long the building had been standing empty now, and she tried the door. To her surprise it swung open easily.

She paused. It was trespassing to go in, but her curiosity was too great to ignore. Maybe someone had snuck in and was living in here secretly? She stepped through the doorway and into the kitchen before she could second guess her thoughts and looked around. Everything sat in a thick layer of dust, and there were no footprints to be seen on the floor. The air was musty.

Her spine was tingling. This was where Danny died. This was where Joe Miller had wrapped his hands around her little boy's throat and choked the life out of him. She stifled a sudden sob and pressed the palm of her left hand to her mouth.

And then the door was slammed shut.

Beth swept around, wide-eyed and startled, and as she did so a voice spoke up from behind her.

"Humans. Such curious creatures."

There was a sharp crack, the back of her head flared with pain, and then her world went black.

~/~/~/~/~

When she woke up, her head was aching and she couldn't quite focus her eyes. Her surroundings were dark, and for a moment she was terrified that maybe her eyesight had been affected, but then she realized that about six feet above her head there was the grey brick of a wall or ceiling. Shivering, her skin damp and cold, she struggled up into a sitting position and tried to understand where she was.

It was a tunnel of some kind. Faint sunlight shone through access doors at various intervals, giving her enough light to see by, but it was a very closed tunnel, and extending farther than she could clearly see. Water dripped lazily into pools by her feet and she could smell the sweet decay of sewage from farther away.

Where was she?

"Hello?" she called. She thought maybe she heard footsteps but in this circumstance the sounds could travel in odd ways. Keeping a hand on the wall she stood, wanting some confirmation of human company.

"Is anyone there?"

And then she heard a growl.

It didn't sound particularly close but it was deep, and it warned her that it was coming closer. Her breath catching in her throat she started to back away, looking for a ladder or something she could climb up, but she didn't see anything. Her footsteps were loud in the echoing silence, and another growl from whatever was in the tunnels with her let her know that her voice had alerted it.

It was hunting her.

Her head was still spinning but her body automatically began to move, shifting her weight to be as soundless as possible. What the hell was down here that could make a sound like that? She thought she saw the shadows shift, saw the light bend, but instinct made her turn and run. It seemed she ran forever trying to find some way to climb outside, to even find where outside was, and all the while the thing was still following her.

An access ladder caught her attention and desperately she grabbed hold of the rungs to pull herself up; not a moment too soon, either, because as she climbed up several feet and reached up to move aside the door, praying it wouldn't be rusted shut, the air seemed to shift and suddenly there was a roar that shook the tunnel itself. Beth's ears were ringing and she felt her left one pop as if she were in an airplane, but she was in luck because bracing her shoulder she was able to push the door up and outwards, and a wave of fresher air hit her face.

"What the-? Jack, we've got a live one!"

The woman's voice made Beth very nearly fall off the ladder again, unprepared to find herself in another's company, and she dragged herself up the rest of the way to find a gun suddenly leveled at her face.

"Duck!" Again she acted purely on instinct, and she did as ordered just in time to miss the pistol firing over her head and into the closing access door. Dimly she heard another screech of pain, and the heavy thud of something hitting the tunnel floor beneath the floor of the building, and then her arm was grabbed and she was forcefully hauled away. The woman dragging her was taller than Beth was, dressed in a black leather jacket with large eyes and dark dark hair, and right now she was peering at beth with a mix of disbelief and suspicion.

"What were you doing down there? I just checked this area of tunnel ten minutes ago, and there was no human life readings besides mine and my friends'."

"Let go of me!" She ripped her arm from the woman's grip. Behind them the access door shuddered.

Her company's attention turned to it briefly, her expression tight with nervousness and preparation. "C'mon, we'll catch up with the others- run!" And the access door flew upwards and hit the floor with another deafening clatter, barely missing both of them as they moved.

It was what appeared to be a warehouse that Beth had managed to climb up into, abandoned and decrepit, its tall shelving draped with dirty plastic sheets. The ground shuddered as another roar echoed in the air, and Beth slipped on the corner of one of the shelves.

"Gwen!"

The shout- and the familiar voice along with it- made Beth's head snap up, her mouth falling open as another woman rounded another corner, rushing towards them. The gait, the flyaway curls, it was certainly her- Ellie Miller. And right now she was holding what also appeared to be a gun, her dark coat buttoned up to her throat and her dark eyes careful as she approached. "Ellie, we found it, it's beneath us in the sewers- come and help me, we've got a civilian."

"What the hell do you mean a civilian- good God, Beth?" Ellie stopped in her tracks, her expression slipping into bafflement and amazement.

Beth could only stare back, utterly confused and still trying to understand what the hell had happened to the world-

And then there was a sudden explosion from around the corner- a brilliant flare of orange and yellow that washed over them all- something roared in pain, and suddenly two men careened into view. One- the captain, Beth realized with a nasty shock, the one who had come to Broadchurch years ago- was also holding a large gun and a wicked-looking knife, his World War II trenchcoat flying behind him.

"Go, Ell!" he shouted, turning to face the corner. "Gwen, you provide cover fire for us if this thing turns nasty. Alec-"

"Already done, Harkness." The captain's companion barely slowed down as he whisked by them, and suddenly Beth found herself running when her hand was grasped and he led them along. "C'mon, Miller! I'm not coming back for you if you fall behind."

Beth nearly tripped over her feet again, knowing that Scottish brogue anywhere, but Ellie merely rolled her eyes. "1908, Alec," she said sweetly. "Try another one, would you?"

"All out of 'em, sorry- Jack, it's going to fire again!" As quickly as Alec had started off he was skidding to a halt and turning back to join the captain, leaving the three women standing several paces behind them both. "Thirty-five seconds, counting down..."

"Don't just stand there, you two!" Ellie yelled furiously as yet another roar shook their eardrums. She grabbed hold of Beth and started dragging her farther away. "I'm not dragging you to Martha to get patched up again."

"You always say that, Ellie," the captain said fondly; nonetheless he began to back up, away from what it was stalking them all. Even as Beth watched, however, Hardy stayed where he was. "Alec!" Jack called in exasperation.

"In a mo'." He did back up a step, but made no other attempt to move.

"What is he doing?" Beth breathed, horrified. "He's going to get himself killed!"

Ellie snorted, as if she barely registered it was Beth at her side. "Please," she scoffed. "Alec Hardy is too bloody stubborn to die."

And then the creature that had been stalking Beth sidled around the corner, growling, and she could do nothing but stare. It was unlike anything else she had ever seen before, about the size of a small dog; a bright acid green, it was covered with gleaming scales. Slitted golden eyes glared at them as it advanced.

"But-" Beth stammered. "But it's-"

"So small?" Gwen suggested.

"Don't be fooled," Jack told her seriously. "Its sonic walls can topple walls and kill someone at close enough range."

"Is it close enough, Jack?" Ellie asked nervously.

Jack motioned to the one still standing in front of them all. "For him, yes."

"You worry too bloody much, Harkness," Hardy snapped at him, but his attention was on the creature. "Twenty-one seconds, by the way, in case you're interested."

"Oh, I'm very interested-"

"If you finish that sentence, Jack," Ellie warned him crossly, "I'll kick you in the balls myself."

The captain flashed her a winning smile, coyness written all over his features. "Don't worry, Ellie, I'm plenty interested in you too, it's not all about Alec anyway."

"Oi!" Gwen barked, her gun up and ready to fire at the creature. "Knock it off, Jack! Focus on the directive now and do your flirting later."

"Yes, ma'am." And barely had he finished speaking than Alec jumped backwards and the creature sprang at the same time- and the latter jumped directly into a second explosion that erupted from the shelving beside it. They all cringed backwards from the force of the blast, they heard one last shriek of pain, and then silence fell so quickly it was almost frightening. "Is it later enough now?"

"No, you knob!" Ellie snapped. "We've got a problem, Jack, in case you haven't noticed! "

"Why? What's the problem? The alien's taken care of, no one was hurt and- oh. Wait. Uh, did we start out with five people on this trip? 'Cos I don't think we did."

"'Course we didn't," Alec retorted, shooting him a glare as he approached their circle. "Keep up, Harkness, your ape is showing."

"Oi," Ellie warned him. "Rude. Remember you're part ape too."

"Focus," Gwen said in a tone said that said she wanted to smack them all upside the head.

Beth spoke before any of them had a chance to. "What the _hell_ did you do to me?"


End file.
